The getting back in shape thread

[Kiwi]

I got back into it today, I found out my medical is May 29th!!!!

The lit a fire under my britches and I did 685 calories in 50 minutes, Im going for a 5 k walk with K tonight and I will be doing some cleaning.

I didn't realise the tests would be so rigerious. Im having a urine test, blood tests, x-rays and an in person physical.

Of course I have been clean for MONTHS and last week I finally broke down and used a green substance once... so now I have to spend the entire month freaking out about that showing up....GREAT JOB THERE KIWI

[SorryIsGoodEnough]

Ouch. What do your doctors tell you to do?

Well, I haven't really asked them. I don't have a car and it's a pain in the ass to get to college, work, pick up my daughter, etc AND see a doctor. And since no one will prescribe me my anti-anxiety meds for at least six months, I don't want to see about the stress of trying to do everything in one day.

I should quit making excuses and see a doctor. Sigh. I should have just lost the weight after I had my baby but noooo. I made up excuses then too.

[One-Fang]

Sorry, if you're suffering from sleep apnea and have heart issues, you definitely need to see a doctor. You should not start any exercise until you can, and check out what is safe and recommended for you, personally.

However, even extremely large people have successfully lost weight, ditched the heart and sleeping problems, and had a much greater quality of life, simply by getting some exercise and eating a bit better. So once you've checked out what's okay to do, remember that you can do it! Just stick with it, don't expect perfection or results right away, and remember it's not actually about being "smaller" so much as being "healthier", regardless of what that number on that scale says.

Did my 10k today. One hour 12 minutes, roughly. It had some hill work and there was some walking involved, but I had expected to do 1:15 on a flat basic course for a 10k distance anyway, so I'm pretty chuffed!

[crazylegs]

DUH!!!

When I started going to the gym I bought a nice new spiffy pair of trainers, and very comfy they are too.

Unfortunately they're not right for me, because like everybody else in the world my feet rotate at the ankles. My feet rotate outwards and I've bought trainers for people who's feet rotate inwards.

That'll be why my knees hurt.

I'm off to get my gait properly measure and buy a decent pair of trainers this afternoon then get back on the treadmill.

I feel such a doofus.

[lupo pazzesco]

One-Fang that's INCREDIBLE! Congrats on doing so well on the 10K!! I'd have probably died halfway into it!! I'm a bit too big to run without it hurting my knees and back right now, but once I drop a bit more weight and get some stamina going, I might take up running. Right now it's walking, and the occasional cycling for outdoor exercise. And my workout DVDs for indoor exercise.

Speaking of which, off to do one now.

[One-Fang]

That's great lupo.

When I started, I walked a lot. That was probably about all I did. I'd hit the gym sometimes and do elliptical, but otherwise it was just walking. When I got under about 90kg or so I started running.

Can't stand these extra-heavy people you see running. Yeah, running's a great exercise, but it's soooo much strain on your joints when you're big! I love seeing that you are going to look after your body and do it when ready, not feel that you have to do it now.

Walking got me here. You come on and join me in a few months.

[lupo pazzesco]

I already walk a lot. Everywhere. Get off the bus, walk around campus. Walk from campus to work, from work to the bus, walk to grocery stores nearby. Sometimes my knees ache, so that's how I know that running probably isn't the greatest for me. that, and I tend to klutz out a lot. Seriously, I trip over my own two feet far to often for my liking. that's why I'm taking it slow. Doing some simple strength training and whatnot. Working for me so far, and I hope to at least be able to run some by the end of the year.

See you then.

[Rapscallion]

How out of breath do you get when walking, Lupo? It's not really doing you that much good unless you end up breathing reasonably hard (a good measure if you don't have a heart rate monitor etc). I found out the hard way that I had to accept muscular pain in the first few attempts to get to a stage where it doesn't affect me much at all and I consider my onetime maximum to be a minimum.

This morning, four times on this hill, 735 calories, max pulse 165.

Rapscallion

[lupo pazzesco]

Hi Raps:

I speed walk, if that's what you want to call it , I do push, and if my legs start cramping, I slow it down for about 5 minutes, then start up again. I do have an HRM, though, and for a 30 minute walk, I burn, around 100 calories, and keep my heart rate within the right range, if I can. (max for me would be about 190, I think...) and there is much sweating and panting... Running though, just puts far, far too much stress on my knees and back, mostly from the higher impact. Well, that and I have no cartilage in one knee...stupid kid trick got me injured, and refused to tell anyone until too late to correct the damage.

I'm borderline for morbid obesity, about 6 feet, but almost 300 lbs. My highest weight was 328 lbs at one time. I lost almost 30 lbs then fell off the wagon, if you will, after a year.

[Rapscallion]

Oh, agree on the running. I intend to get my weight much further down before even thinking about running.

Thirty minutes for one hundred calories? I usually burn over three hundred in that time, though different monitors will give different results, I guess.

I'm a touch under 250 pounds, if that's any guide.

What's the right range of heart beat for you?

Rapscallion

[lupo pazzesco]

Well, I suppse I don't push myself as much as I COULD, and I don't have the best HRM on the market, so it might be more. I can't think of the range off the top of my head. I had it written after my doctor told me, but it's not coming to mind.

I THINK it's in the upper 100s, but again, not terrible sure, I want to say 190, though.

[One-Fang]

100 calories is definitely too low. As in, it's reporting low, not as in you need to do more. At nearly 300lbs you will definitely burn a lot more than that.

I'm 175 or so and burn around 10cal/minute when I work out, whatever I'm doing, so like Raps, that's about 300 calories for 30 minutes work. When you're heavier, you burn more. I can't recall if you're male or female, but if you're a guy, you'll burn even more again.

The HR range sounds high. The usual recommendation "on average" is 220 minus your age, then work out at 65-80% of that. However, for me that gives me a range that equates to a mild walk. If I did only that I wouldn't lose anything! So it's not very personalised and that average calculation doesn't apply to all. But 190 would be extremely high and I probably wouldn't recommend hitting that too often.

Raps is right about just using your body as a guide. Huffy puffy, sweaty, knowing that you're "working hard" is all you need to aim for. You should be able to talk, but not sing. If you can sing, step it up. If you're panting and sweating now, you're probably doing just fine.

Ultimately - you're making progress now. Don't change a thing.

[lupo pazzesco]

One-Fang. I'm 25, so, my max heart rate would be 195. Yay, I was right! I don't think I've ever gotten that high. Must've mistyped, oops! But I think the range I need to stick to is between 133 and 155, something like that. And I'm female, btw.

Yeah, like I said, I don't have the best HRM around, (Got it rather cheap and on sale...and I'm still learning how to use it.)

I do the huffing and puffing bit for at least 30 minutes with every workout, so, I know I'm pushing it when I need to. And I know I am seeing change. My muscles are telling me that much, at least.

[One-Fang]

Sounds great.

If you're making progress, don't get too caught up in the mathematics of it. There are so many conflicting ideas on what level to work out at for "best" results, and what to eat, and how to work out, and when.

Basically, if you're losing, keep doing that. If you stop losing, change something. Pretty much anything. Try that for a couple of weeks. If it didn't work, change something else.

[draggar]

My wife and I are joining 24-hour fitness this week. I spent over $200 at Target on workout gear.